Eastern Airways

[jamestkirk]

On the whole you are bonded.

FO,s dont pay their own training costs. Not sure where that's come from.

Get CV's in as lots of people leaving.

[Rebak]

F/Os fund their own training, including hotel costs, DE Captains are bonded.

Mostly cr*p this one.

Depending on whether the CP, Fleet M's or whoever else is present in the interview had a good session with missus on the previous night determines if FO's are bonded or not.

Your "salary" starts from Day 1 with the company so you're paid during ground school. Duty pay is also running on a 24 hour basis - unless of course your base is Humberside.

D/E Capts are bonded.

[girlpower]

Thanks for all the valuable info. How popular is the NWI base? Any chance a newbee ever getting it or possibly a year down the line?

Just edited to add another question. Ppjn states 21k per year and the first pound of the duty pay is tax free. Can anyone who is currently a new FO or remembers being a new FO what their end of the month payslip looked like i.e the amount into your bank account.

Thanks

[jamestkirk]

Yes. Bank on £21k basic if you are low hours.
Duty pay is 1.25ph and you get taxed on about 80% of that.

There are increments for hours and type.

put the wages into an online tax calculator and it will give you an idea of net pay.

[girlpower]

Thanks again. So I guess the "yes" means NWI is possible?

I will use the online tax calculator, cheers. Any idea of how many duty hours per year on average? Sorry to be pedantic but I need to know if I can afford the job.

Actually, disregard the duty pay. It wont make that much difference.

[dn88]

Are bases completely random for newbies, or are some more likely than others?

At £21K a year I think I'd have to live as far north as possible! ABZ or NCL should be enough to live on - can't see how NWI would work.

[Richard Taylor]

Given the freefall in the oil industry, I would have thought you would want to keep as far away from ABZ as you possibly can! I think the oil routes to ABZ will be severely impacted over the coming months - maybe years.

[LBIA]

Heard a rumour today that the 2x Embraer 135's G-CGMB & G-CGMC are leaving the UK later in the year because Eastern Airways have picked up a nice contract somewhere in Africa.

Anyone able to add or confirm if there is any truth to this?

[maxed-out]

I would have thought ABZ is more expensive than some parts of Norwich(excl the centre).

[Heinz57]

Regarding bonds with the company, as far as I'm aware, as an FO, if you meet their stated requirements (1000 hours / inc 500 multi eng), you are bonded. If you are offered a post with hours less than this requirement, you are expected to pay for your rating.

I would say slim chances for a NWI base as a newbie. As people may move on, I would think its likely there are crew up in ABZ or other bases looking for a southerly move already on the base transfer list.

As a new FO joining, I would set your sights on Wick or ABZ as an initial base. Hasn't always been the case, but at least you won't be disappointed if another base is offered!

On the whole though, in my opinion, whilst Eastern may lack in some areas, they do make up for with a great bunch of crew. Good luck to those applying.

[RAFAT]

jamestkirk and Rebak

2 DE Captains (who were bonded) and 2 F/Os (who paid for their training, travel and accommodation costs) that joined the J41 fleet on a course just a few months ago would confirm that I am 100% right, your information may have been derived from another fleet. Of course the urgency of the requirement may dictate the terms offered to new joiners, but don't dispel accurate information as cr*p.

[TESTingPILOT]

RAFAT - You are misinformed Sir. They may well have paid for their Type Ratings but they certainly didn't pay for travel or Hotac costs, this is provided by the company.

To clarify, if you have OGP hours, (FO=1000tt inc 500ME) then you will be bonded , any less or little ME hours then you will have to self fund)

[RAFAT]

TESTingPILOT - I beg to differ Sir, I know those concerned personally and they funded everything, including Hotac. They did not have OGP hours.

I think the best answer we can give to girlpower, who asked the question, is that the deal you get depends on a number of variables which are anyone's guess on the day.

[budlee]

It is quite normal for Eastern to adjust their offer/demands, according to what they think they can get out of you.

Dealing with them should be viewed as being similar to going to an auction. Set yourself a limit and don't exceed it, for disappointment and regret will surely follow.

[TESTingPILOT]

Quote'TESTingPILOT - I beg to differ Sir, I know those concerned personally and they funded everything, including Hotac. They did not have OGP hours.

I think the best answer we can give to girlpower, who asked the question, is that the deal you get depends on a number of variables which are anyone's guess on the day.'

[gkmeech]

Working Notice

Don't we usually work notice when we have something else to go to, or is it so bad that some would rather not work at all ?

[CaptainSox]

18 pilots working their notices at the moment I hear!

[davidjohnson6]

Eastern offering LBA-SOU for £29 one way including luggage booked less than a week in advance on a 29-seater. Last summer, advance fares started at £120.
Presume this is a last desperate attempt to win the battle against Flybe on this route...

[jamestkirk]

I heard 23 working notice. More to follow.

[RAFAT]

Well done and all the best to the guys and gals moving on, but the volume of leavers probably won't bother the company one little bit, there are loads in the hold pool ready to step in and every self-funded rating (for those applicable) is even more money in the bank for the boss. Obviously not what you want to hear and it shouldn't be like that, but that's the reality of it.